German FM says new political impetus urgently needed in Ukraine crisis

BERLIN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Sunday, ahead of an urgent meeting in Berlin, that new political impetus was urgently needed to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.

Steinmeier is due to hold the meeting with his Russian, Ukrainian and French counterparts later in the day.

"The humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine currently draws a lot of political attention, which is understandable in view of the serious plight of many people in areas of violent conflicts," Steinmeier said in a statement.

At the same time, "we must not neglect the search for political ways out of the Ukraine crisis. We urgently need new political impetus now, otherwise there would be a risk of again going backward and entering a worse spiral of escalations," he noted.

The minister said the meeting in Berlin would be used to explore ways to restart the political process, adding that this means above all coming up with a plan on how to bring about a sustainable ceasefire and a framework for effective border controls.

"Only in this way can eastern Ukraine come to rest and Kiev can go on with a national dialogue to integrate the people in the east appropriately," he said.

As the hassle over the Russian convoy rages on, Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers agreed Friday to hold an urgent meeting with their French and German counterparts in Berlin on Sunday so as to calm the soaring tension.

France has said it expects the quadrilateral meeting to be a first step towards a Ukraine-Russia peace summit.

Steinmeier told Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Saturday that he hopes the talks would help "put an end to violent fighting" in eastern Ukraine and provide the region with "urgent and necessary aid."